While in Barcelona, I thought I would experience a Curio a Collection by Hilton hotel property for the first time — and I chose to stay at the Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton hotel property.
My First Stay at a Curio a Collection by Hilton Hotel — and The Verdict Is…
The room was rather dark when I first walked into it…
…so I turned on all of the lights in the room — but it was still rather dark; and this was during the day.
When I booked my reservation, I chose a superior room with a queen bed, which was reasonably comfortable — and it had a telephone, note pad, pen and alarm clock on the nightstands on either side of the bed…
…but the room was so small that I did not have enough room to get a standard photograph with the entire room in it, as I was already pressing my body as far as possible back into a corner of the room.
The small room was furnished with designer furniture from the 1950s and 1960s — including the chair, desk, and a place to store luggage — as well as a high definition television mounted on the otherwise bare wall.
A minibar was located to the left of the desk, with two glasses which were placed on top of it. The high-speed Wi-Fi access to the Internet worked well.
The Bathroom
The bathroom was rather small as well. It was equipped with several towels and a couple of glasses.
Amenities which were placed in the bathroom included moisturising body wash, daily balancing shampoo, antioxidant moisturiser, invigorating conditioner — as well as a bar of soap and a box of tissues.
I am not sure why the shampoo needed to be balanced daily, as its container has a flat bottom. I am also not sure what is so invigorating about conditioner.
The shower area was adjacent to the toilet area, which had its own frosted glass door…
…and both facilities are located to the right of the sink and vanity area of the bathroom. Amenities which were placed in the shower area include shampoo, conditioner and a shower cap.
The shower head emulated a small rain shower; while two retractable hooks are found to the left of the shower area.
For some reason, this bathroom has a window to the bedroom. Thank goodness for the blinds if two people are occupying this room — and because of mandatory fire codes, no more than two people are permitted to occupy this room.
The Closet, the Entrance to the Room, and the View
The entrance to the room shows a full length mirror on the left side; and a sliding door to the bathroom on the right side. Behind the curtains at the other end of the room beyond the bed is a glass door to the patio.
The closet was equipped with a hair dryer in a bag, an iron, and ten wooden hangers…
…as well as an ironing board, a plastic laundry bag, a safe, and a coffee and tea station with sweeteners and two cups. The opened curtains reveal the glass door to the patio, as my room was located on the first floor of the hotel property.
Plants and brick walls greeted me on the rather small patio…
…which was surrounded by the hotel and other buildings. The tile floor was nice; but I would be surprised if more than a dozen tiles were used in total.
The brick walls were primarily for the purpose of privacy — but they did not offer any privacy from surrounding areas which were higher than the first floor.
Summary
This hotel property “offers excellent dining experiences including a Catalan gastronomic breakfast buffet with local quality products, a brasserie featuring ingredients grown in our own vegetable garden, a Charcuterie bar with Catalan specialties, and a stunning patio terrace by the pool.” Guests also have access to a dry Finnish sauna, massage cabins, or fitness center.
Because of the departure of my first flight aboard an airplane operated by TAP Air Portugal to Lisbon during the next morning, I did not have a chance to eat breakfast — and that flight was delayed anyway when I arrived at the airport. Things do not always work out, I suppose.
I also did not have an opportunity to use the swimming pool. None of the rooms in the hotel permit smoking. No upgrade to a larger or better room was offered, as upgrades seemed to be rather limited when I stayed at this hotel property.
I paid 173.71 euros at the time of booking my reservation, which turned out to be $214.32 in United States dollars. No refunds were permitted with this rate. Although I felt that this room rate was a little expensive for the value of my experience, the rate was indeed comparable to the rates of similar nearby hotel properties in general.
My stay at this hotel property was nothing extraordinary; but the historic building which houses the hotel is arguably in the most convenient location of any of the Hilton properties in Barcelona; and it is located only a few blocks away from the Diagonal subway station for access to two subway lines. Because of this — as well as the reasonable comfort and cleanliness of the room itself and the stylish lobby area — I recommend staying here; but consider staying elsewhere if you can find a significantly lower room rate at a different hotel property if the value proposition to you is better overall.
Alexandra Barcelona Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
Calle Mallorca, 251
Barcelona, 08008, Spain
+34-93-4677166
+34-93-4880258 Fax
reservations@hotel-alexandra.com
All photographs ©2018 by Brian Cohen.
